Shatterproof
by friedriceforlife
Summary: Harry has been struggling to survive the end of the world on his own for a while now. Past bad experiences have left him avoiding people at all costs despite the strain it puts on him. When Harry accidentally stumbles across the group at the prison they aren't about to let him run away again.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: Hi! This is an idea that's been bothering me for a while and I just needed to get it down on paper. Tell me if it's any good and if I should write more._

 _For all those waiting for an update from Unlucky, I'm so terribly sorry that I've been taking so long. Life had its way of getting in my way and this year had been particularly rough._

 _For the rest of you, please read and review!_

 **Chapter One**

Harry had known this area had too many walkers to sleep here, even in a tree.

He had known and done it anyway because when else is he ever going to catch a wink of sleep. The walkers are everywhere now.

Now he's stuck running again. He's always running with nowhere to go, nowhere to go but away from the monsters he can see even when that means running towards those that he can't.

The teen had a rough time of the apocalypse, worse than the normal end of the world things that everyone goes through. It was the unfortunate combination of relatives that didn't care enough to at least try and stick around and run-ins with the sort of people that you would cross the road to avoid even before this whole mess went down.

He hadn't escaped unscathed from his ordeals, as clearly seen by the thick manacles still locked onto too skinny wrists with a broken chain that used to hold them together hanging from each, yet he had managed to escape.

The life that Harry now lives was about survival, not living. That meant that Harry avoided two things; walkers and people. If made to choose between the two he would choose walkers in a heartbeat. When dealing with the undead you knew what to expect. People weren't like that, people were unpredictable. People could cause a whole lot of damage that walkers could never even dream of. The few friendly people that he had come across, not that they lasted very long- this was no longer a world for friendly people, had acted like the walkers were the monsters. Harry had long figured out the truth of the situation, what you had to watch out for were never the walkers but rather the people that could survive them. They were the meanest, nastiest people that could and would hurt others to get what they wanted. If they weren't that type of person before the breakout they certainly had become it.

Harry knew his strengths and weaknesses and he knew that he couldn't take on more than a few walkers at a time, with his short and unhealthily skinny frame, which meant that he had quickly become accustomed to running and running far. Yet despite this, the young teen was quickly running low on gas and was finding it quite hard to breathe now that he had been going for so long. He knew that he needed somewhere to hide from the walkers until they lost interest, preferably somewhere where he could find something to eat.

That was why when Harry came upon the prison, a safe haven if he ever saw one, he only hesitated for a second before running for the tall fence. The raven haired boy knew full well that it was a possibility that there was someone living there but without anyone in the expansive yard, even with it being the dead of night, he also knew that he had to take the chance. Harry stopped for only half a second to pull out the sturdy blanket he kept with him for cold nights from his backpack before continuing on at full speed towards the fence. He wrapped the blanket around his shoulders to free his hands as he started scaling the tall structure, feeling the walkers weathered hands grasping at his heals as he climbed.

Just before he reached the large coils of barbed wire he pulled his thick blanket from his shoulders and through it over the barbs, hoping that the worst of it would be blocked as he made his attempt to get over the top. The teen propelled himself over the fence, cringing in pain as some of the barbs still sunk through his ratty clothing and into his soft skin, before falling quickly and awkwardly to the hard ground.

Ignoring the new pain that was pounding through him, Harry awkwardly scouted away from the first fence so that his back was against the second one before the prison yard began. The teen looked mournfully up at his blanket, knowing that it was lost as he would be unable to retrieve it with the walkers crowded at the fence. This also brought the awful revelation that he didn't have a way of getting over the fence and into the prison now that his blanket couldn't be used.

It was probably for the best, reasoned the boy in his head, getting over the first time had hurt and awful lot and he wasn't sure if he could make it over again a second time without breaking something, the sort of injury that could spell out death for those who got one nowadays. Nonetheless, Harry stumbled to his feet, mindful of his quite obviously bruised ribs and the shallow cuts that peppered his entire body, and began to shuffle down the no-man's land in-between the outside world and the prison. The last thing he wanted was for too many walkers to pile up on the fence while he was resting and for it to tumble down, predictably both trapping him and giving the walkers an all-you-can-eat buffet.

As he walked Harry pulled a long knife from his belt and began going in just close enough the walkers the stab one in the head at a time before drifting out of reach before they could grab him. It was the least he could do for his future self when he did end up needing to leave this little pathway somehow. Chances were he would end up having to fight his way through if he wanted to survive, something he hated to do as if was so much more risky that just running, and the less there were the better it would be.

"Hey!" Came the unexpected and all too unwelcome shout from the top of the nearby watchtower. Heart racing, Harry squinted through the sudden light to see a young Asian man standing on the balcony, flashlight on and pointed right at Harry, "Who are you?"

Harry wet his lips nervously as his breathing grew quicker. He should have known that a place as nice as this would undoubtedly have people. He had hoped and been stupid and now he was in trouble, so much trouble and there was no way out. The Asian man disappeared from Harry's view as the teens heart became erratic and his breaths shallow. He knew full well that he was having another one of his panic attacks, at least that was what Dr. Alan had called them, yet the knowledge did nothing in the face of the irrepressible terror that Harry was feeling.

Just as black spots were starting to appear in his eyes and -stop that hurts! Why aren't you listening to me? I told you to- he started to feel consciousness fade from his head, the man who had been in the watchtower was now right in front of him and grabbing the teen's arm. How did he get there? He was so far away and now he was so close –No! No! Please don't leave me here, I promise I'm a good boy! I'll do anything, anything you- and it was too much far, far too much.

The last thing Harry saw before he passed out was the concerned face of the young man hovering above him.

LINEBREAK

The last thing Glenn expected from taking watch was to see a solitary young boy running straight out of the forest and to the fence, barely pausing the take precautions from getting skewered by the barbed wire, and landing hard on the other side. In fact, the scene shocked him so much that he just stood there watching until the movements what looked to be a young teen stirred him from his initial shock.

"Hey!" He shouted towards the boy, hardly caring if the walkers heard, they were already piling up at the fence anyway, "Who are you?" The now visibly teenaged boy squinted up at Glenn in the all too recognizable expression of fear.

It was a fair assumption that the teen wasn't much of a threat, he looked lost and wasn't carrying a gun, and so Glenn made the decision to go down and try to talk with him. He didn't seem to be responding to Glenn, perhaps out of the mere shock of seeing another human being. After all, they could be quite rare these days.

The closer to the kid that Glenn got the more he realized that he wasn't in a good way. Not only was he covered in bruises and bleeding in several spots but he seemed to be having trouble breathing. The man quickly retrieved his key from his belt and entered into the area in between the fences.

When he was finally next to the kid, he saw that he was having some sort of panic attack. The last time he'd seen anything like this it had been with one of his sister's close friends who had struggled with crippling anxiety and had the occasional panic attack. The black haired teen then started to sway on his feet dangerously and despite having seen this sort of thing once before and knowing that it probably wasn't the smartest idea to grab someone when they were out of it like this, Glenn institutionally grabbed his arm to stop him from falling.

This seemed to be the last straw as the kid mouthed out a desperate no in between hard gasps of breath before dropping to the ground, unconscious.

Shit, thought Glenn desperately as he glanced from the unconscious teen to the walkers pounding at the fence. He could already tell that this was going to be a long day.

 _AN: Please remember to leave a review if you liked it!_


	2. Chapter 2

_An/ Thank you so much for the lovely review I got last chapter. They certainly prompted me to finish this chapter much faster than it other wise would have been. You're all great and I can't thank you enough for you're kind words._

 _In answer to some of the questions some of you have asked about Harry's magic. Harry WILL have magic in this story though it may not quite seem like it at first. Normally I start out my stories with an actual summary of the characters life up until that point and while I'm not saying that it isn't a good way to start a story sometimes (I mean, that's how_ _To Kill A Mockingbird_ _starts after all) but I wanted to try something I little different. Unfortunately for all of you this may mean waiting a little longer for the juicy details that you've been craving._

 _I hope that you enjoy the story and don't forget to review!_

Chapter Two

Harry was accustomed to having to wake quickly in order to stop himself from being walker chow and so it was really no surprise that the moment Harry registered the mattress beneath him and the thin blanket on top he'd be fully awake in less than a second. The teen opened his eyes and sat up quickly, observing his situation. He was in the prison for sure and he could see that he was in some sort of connecting area between two doors, one leading to a hallway and the other to a cell block entitled C by the sign next to it.

"You're awake." Came a voice from behind where Harry was lying on the ground. The teen whipped around quickly, ignoring the pain that it caused his battered body, to look at the speaker. The man was old and on crutches, with one leg missing.

"My name's Hershel, I'm the one that fixed you up." Said the man to Harry's questioning look. Glancing down at his body, which was now exposed since the blanket had slid down when he sat up, he saw that he was shirtless with white bandages covering his ribs as well as a few places on his arms where the barbed wire had dug particularly deep into his skin. Though he knew that he was still in the loosely fitting cargo pants he had arrived in he had no doubt that his legs were covered in similar bandages.

"Thank you." Answered Harry tensely. He was feeling acutely on edge being this close to other people. It was doubtful that the man was the only one close by and that the others would undoubtedly have weapons, something he found himself to be uncomfortably bare of.

"You should have called us when he started to wake up." Came a different voice from inside the cell block. Harry once again turned to see a middle-aged man with the start of a beard on his chin and an air of leadership about him opening the gate to the cell block, where a few people were only just beginning to peak their head out of their cells. Most importantly to Harry, the man had a gun strapped to his hip.

The teen forced down the beginnings of panic as he had done many times before. In order to think clearly one needs to be calm and while cleverness wasn't exactly a skill needed when dealing with walkers it was definitely something needed when dealing with other people.

"I didn't have any time, one moment he was asleep and the next he was awake." Answered Hershel in a kind voice in a response to the man with the gun.

The unknown man took a step closer to Harry, squatting down so that the two of them would be on eye level with one another. "I'm Rick, the leader of this group. My man Glenn saw you last night when you scaled one of our fences to get away from some walkers and brought you inside for the night. Do you have a group that you were separated from? You seem far too young to be on your own."

Gathering his courage Harry replied, "I'm alone. I don't like people much and while I appreciate you fixing me up I would rather like to leave now."

"We can't just let you leave." Answered Rick, seeming rather surprised that he thought that such a thing could happen, "I've already said that you're too young to be on your own and we're not about to force you to fend for yourself."

"It wouldn't be forcing if I leave of my own accord and will. I don't want to stay here." Responded the teen tersely, fear starting to grip him at the thought of being forced to stay somewhere against his own will.

"Adults are supposed to look after kids even when they don't want it. That was true before the world ended and it's still true after. I'm sorry if someone didn't do that for you before or wasn't able to but we can now and it's our duty to do so."

"I'm not a kid."

Rick raised an eyebrow at the short answer before answering, "I know that you've probably had to grow up too fast but that doesn't mean that you can't still be a kid. How old are you anyway?"

"Sixteen." Lied Harry, knowing that it was the oldest that he could get away with his unfortunately small frame.

Rick looked up and down the small teen with disbelief clear on his face but decided not to comment on the matter, "Hershel's daughter Beth is 17 and I while I know that she's tough that doesn't mean I'd let her go off on her own."

"I don't need to have this argument with you," hissed Harry angrily, "I've been taking care of myself for a long time now and I prefer it to other people. If you're not prepared to lock me up you should just show me the door, I'll just be on my way and you'll never have to see me again."

"Is that what happened there?" Asked Rick calmly in the face of Harry's small outburst as he gestured towards the manacles around Harry's wrists.

"They didn't exactly share your motives if that's what you're asking." Answered the teen angrily, sticking his wrists down by his side and out of site.

The man's face seemed to soften at this admission and his voice adopted a kinder tone as he responded, "How about a compromise, you stay here for a month and if you still want to leave after that, then we'll let you go."

"Why would I trust you to keep your word? For all I know you'll just lock me up if I try to leave after that."

"You don't know." Answered Rick simply, taking Harry by surprise, "You have no idea what kind of person I am and I don't know who you are. This way you'll be allowed to roam around freely and help out around the prison rather than being locked up like you obviously fear. Who knows, you might even like it."

Harry glanced up and down the man before deciding this was, unfortunately, his best course of action. He had no idea what the man might try to pull if he said no. "Two weeks."

"A month." Countered Rick, a small smile on his face now that he knew the teen would take his advice, "No less and no more if you don't want it."

"Fine." Huffed out the raven haired teen, annoyed with how childish he sounded in that moment and by the amused look on Rick's face, he knew it too.

"Good, but if you're going to be staying here I'll be needing to know a few things. Your name might be a good place to start."

"Harry." Revealed the boy grudgingly, it might be a lonely existence for the next month, or at least as long as it took until he managed to escape at a time preferably far before that, if he completely cut himself off from the people living here.

"Other than that I have a few other questions that we ask all others who join our group. Would you mind if I asked you?"

"I don't see that I have much of a choice." Retorted Harry angrily.

"Of course you have a choice. You can always choose not to answer." Butted in Hershel causing Harry to look up in surprise. He had been focusing so much on the man in front of him that he'd completely forgotten about the elderly medic. The teen cursed himself for his sloppiness. That was the sort of thing that could get him killed if he wasn't careful, especially around other people. He'll have to make sure is guard is up from now on with so many strangers about.

"Hershel's right, but I hope that you'll answer." Said Rick, bringing his concentration back to the task at hand, "How many walkers have you killed?"

Harry's eyebrow creased as confusion showed on his face, "Uh, I don't know. I wasn't exactly counting. I'd kill them when I was running or when I could without risking my life. The more I leave behind now the more chance that I may be overwhelmed later."

"How many people have you killed?"

Harry looked up at Rick sharply as the line of questioning turned from harmless to intensely personal, "I'm not answering that." Said the boy shortly. He wasn't about to spill his life story to someone that he'd just met if he had the choice, thank you very much.

"Why?" Stressed Rick, making the word carry much more weight than a single word ever should.

"It's the bloody apocalypse and in case you haven't noticed and I haven't exactly had the best time of things." Answered Harry defensively.

"That'll be all for now." Said Rick, ignoring the tension in the room as he dismissed himself, "I'm sure that Hershel would kick me out soon anyway for disturbing his patient when you're supposed to be resting."

"You know me too well." Chuckled the old man light heartedly, despite Harry seriously doubting that such an event would ever take place. It was clear that Rick was the leader here and what he said goes.

"Though I would prepare yourself for visitors later." Warned Rick as he opened back up the door leading to the cell block. "Glenn will probably want to check and make sure that the kid who fainted on him yesterday is still alright and my son will be excited to see another boy around his age, we don't really run into other people often."

"Thanks," Bit out the teen as he laid back down and pulled the blanket up to his chin. There was nothing he could do now if they decided to kill him, what with them having almost every advantage possible in this situation and he might as well try to be the slightest bit polite if these people were going to be determining his standard of living for the next month at the longest.

"Your welcome." Threw out Rick being his back as he walked away.

Harry glanced up at Hershel to determine that he wasn't an immediate threat before burrowing into the relative comfort of a thin mattress on a hard floor. Still it was more than he'd had in weeks and just thinking about how comfortable he was made him feel tired already. Certainly a short nap wouldn't hurt. After all, it wasn't like there was anything that they could do in his sleep that they probably couldn't force him into when he was awake.

It turns out that Harry didn't have half as much time as he thought he would before people started to 'visit' him. He had barely crossed the line over to unconsciousness when he heard the long noise of the prison door shutting, waking him completely.

Whipping around to locate the source of possible danger Harry spotting a decidedly guilty looking boy who appeared to be close in age to Harry. This must be the son that Rick had referred to only minutes before.

"Sorry." Said the boy gruffly, not quite seeming all too familiar with the term in the way that only teenagers and young children could pull off, "I didn't mean to wake you but you've been sleeping for at least an hour and I was interested. We don't exactly run into other teenagers often."

Harry blinked in surprise at the amount of time that he'd been sleeping for, it really had only felt as though minutes had passed. He also noted that this was definitely the boy Rick had been referring too. Not only had he mentioned that teenagers were scarce but he also used rather similar wording to his dad earlier, as though to father cement their relation in Harry's mind.

Sighing Harry got into a more comfortable position. The teen before him seemed like the type who wouldn't be leaving until he got what he wanted, and in this case that was a conversation from Harry.

It seemed that this would take a lot more smiling and being nice to the locals than he had originally presumed.


	3. Chapter 3

_AN/ Hey all! I hope you enjoy this chapter and leave a review at the end. I realized that a lot of people were a little confused as to Harry was older or younger than 16 and I'm sorry if I wasn't clear but he is in fact younger than 16. Sorry if anyone was confused._

Chapter Three

"So, what's your name?" Asked the boy, getting comfortable on the ground next to Harry's mattress.

"Harry." Answered the other teen, barely refraining from rolling his eyes, would he have to personally tell each and every one of these people his name? It seemed like the sort of thing which should travel around quickly.

"I'm Carl. The man you were talking to earlier, Rick, it my dad."

Harry stared blankly at the young teen, he wasn't sure what the boy wanted him to say in response to the statement, any skill he'd once had at small talk had been lost during the end of the world.

"I'm thirteen." Continued Carl, perhaps thinking that Harry would respond if he just kept making seemingly random statements. The boy huffed in slight frustration at the continued lack of response and asked in a slow and somewhat demeaning voice, "What's your age?"

"Sixteen." Lied Harry once again, knowing that the lie was a little unbelievable.

"No, really. You have to be younger than that."

"I'm sixteen." Insisted Harry, leaving no room for argument. Of course the young boy was right and the fact that both the people that he'd revealed his age to had been obviously skeptic had him cursing his decision, he should have said fifteen. At the time he'd thought that sixteen was probably old enough that the man would let him go but now he had to stick with his lie for however long he'll be stuck here. Harry didn't want them questioning anything else. Perhaps he could say that he'd just turned sixteen recently if asked in further detail.

"Okay." Responded Carl, still not convinced despite Harry's continued claim, "Where you by yourself for a long time?" The younger teen seemed to finally be picking up on the fact that he'd have to ask Harry for questions in order to receive a response.

"Yes."

"At least put in some effort to talk if you want me here, or tell me to go away if you don't!" Exclaimed Carl exasperatedly.

"I'm sorry." Answered Harry, furrowing his eyebrows, "I haven't really talked to people in a long time."

Carl's face immediately softened at the confession, "That's fine. I was out there for a while before we had the prison. It was hard enough with everyone else there, I can't imagine that I would have made it if it'd been just me."

"Sometimes it's better to be alone." Offered Harry cautiously.

"What do you mean?" Asked Carl, looking up in surprise at the admission.

"I, uh, I just mean that, well, people can hurt you a lot worse than the dead could sometimes. They just kill you. People can make it a much worse." Said Harry nervously. It had been easier to talk to the older man when he had the objective of escape in his mind and the obvious power imbalance, something he was more used to than talking to those on the same level as himself.

"Yeah, I suppose so." Answered Carl contemplatively, "It's just that walkers are the main source of a lot of our issues and we haven't really run into too many bad people yet. Not anyone that's managed to do much harm that is."

"You must be very lucky." Croaked out the older teen, looking down as he blinked away the beginnings of tears.

"Not really." Admitted Carl, "My mom, well she just died recently. In childbirth. And we lost a lot of other people clearing out the prison. Before that too."

"I'm sorry. Did- did the baby make it?" Inquired Harry softly, not wanting to poke the bee's nest.

"Yeah", Answered Carl with a soft smile, "We named her Judith."

"That's good." Responded Harry quietly. He'd never had much contact with babies himself but he knew that people always said they brought a lot of happiness with them, something that everyone left needed dearly.

"You two good in there?" Came the unexpected voice of a young Asian man entering the small area where the boys were talking.

"Yeah, we're good." Responded Carl in a steady voice, no trace of their previous conversation.

"Good." Affirmed the young man as he set himself down at the round picnic table nearby, "I'm Glenn. I'm the one who brought you in here after you ended up coming over the first fence."

"Thanks." Responded Harry shyly, not quite sure how to respond to the amount of kindness he was being given by these people. They hadn't even asked for anything in return.

"No problem." Answered Glenn, "I try to watch out for others and hold out that someday someone will do the same for me when I'm in a rough spot. That's actually how I met Carl's dad, Rick."

Harry looked up curiously, knowing that there must be a story there but not wanting to push. He just settled on nodding cautiously instead.

"You could probably come and meet the rest of the people in the prison if you'd like." Offered Glenn, standing and giving Harry and outstretched hand to help him do the same.

"Sure." Responded Harry, seemingly reverting back to one word answered for the time being as he took the extended hand.

"Great." Replied Glenn, looking at Carl with a meaningful look that Harry didn't quite understand.

"Yeah, Great." Joined in Carl, seemingly responding to Glenn's supposed prompting.

Carl opened the door to the cell block that the group seemed to be staying in and gestured for the other two to enter first.

Unlike from what he'd seen when Carl and he had first started talking, the cell block seemed alive. People were thoroughly awake and moving about.

"We should probably start with Beth because she's the closest to our age." Stated Carl as he took charge of introducing the teen to the rest of the group, leaving Glenn behind. It didn't go over Harry's head that Carl had said 'our age' instead of 'your age', once again showing proof of his disbelief in Harry's age.

The younger boy reached out to grab Harry's hand in order to drag him to where they would be meeting Beth but was deterred when Harry flinched back from the contact instinctively. The slightly dopey smile that had appeared on Carl's face at the mention of Beth disappeared for a split second before he dropped his hand and conjured up a considerably more fake smile. She's just over here, the young boy pointed up the stairs to where Harry could see an older teen girl feeding a very young baby.

"Glenn and Maggie are going on a run to get more formula, diapers, and other baby things later today. I wanted to go with them but Dad said that we needed as many people here to make sure the prison is safe and that they'll be fine by themselves. We spent all winter out there, so everyone knows how to look after themselves and contribute, so I wouldn't be in the way even if I did go." Babbled Carl nervously as the two proceeded up the stairs.

"That's good." Answered Harry breathlessly as they reached the top, a little overwhelmed by the amount of conversation he'd been having that day.

Beth turned to the boys as they reached the top of the stairs and smiled kindly, "Hi, you must be Harry, I'm Beth. I'd shake your hand but, as you can see, they're a bit full at the moment." She said, gesturing to the child in her arms with a nod of her head.

"Yeah." Responded Harry quietly as he attempted to shrink into himself. The teen forced himself to take a few shaky breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. There was no way he was going to have a panic attack now, not in front of these people who were being so strangely nice to him. He had spent all this time building up his barriers and now it seemed that they were all being broken down by a few nice words and smiles. He couldn't afford to let people in so easily, he thought as he hardened himself.

"Are you okay?" Asked Carl, glancing worriedly at Beth.

"Fine." Answered Harry shortly, bringing himself up to his full height, however meager that was.

"That's good." Responded Carl a little hesitantly, "Well, anyway, this is Judith, my little sister that I was telling you about."

"I've never been around babies much." Said Harry, afraid that Carl may want him to get closer than he already was to the tiny human.

"Me neither." Admitted Carl with a short laugh, "Not until Judith was born anyway. Luckily Beth has though and of course all the adults."

"Yeah, I used to babysit a little boy down the road from our farm when I was in middle school. He wasn't nearly as young as Judith but its better than nothing." Added Beth, "And, of course, all the baby animals on the farm, though I reckon Judith's a tad different." Joked the girl mischievously.

"Just a tad?" Repeated Carl with a grin on his face, "You better watch out, that's my little sister you know.

"Oh trust me, I'm well aware."

Harry felt a small smile creeping his way onto his face as he listened to the two teasing each other light heartedly. Despite his best efforts it seemed like he couldn't just decide to put back up his barriers again. Maybe letting someone in wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

"So what do you say Harry?" Said Carl with a big smile.

"What?" Asked Harry, wide eyed at the sudden attention focused on him.

"Glenn and Maggie are getting ready to head out and Beth and I wanted to go and say bye before they left. Do you want to come too?"

"Sure." Agreed Harry, still embarrassed that he hadn't been paying attention. Besides, where else would he go? It wasn't like Rick was going to just let him wander around by himself even if he had given him an alarming amount of freedom already. He certainly hadn't expected the man to just allow for him to get this close to his baby though it was possible that was Carl's doing.

The teens walked down the stairs again to wish Glenn and Maggie a good journey, with Beth pausing to hand off Judith to an older woman with short gray hair and a knife on her belt.

The three headed outside into a small gated courtyard that connected to the larger yard. There a car was parked with a couple of adults crowded around it, Harry only recognized a few, those being Rick, Hershel and, of course, Glenn. Seeing as there was only one woman in the crowd of people Harry guessed that the woman with the short brown hair must be Maggie.

"Come on." Encouraged Carl as he saw Harry lagging behind. "I promise we don't bite."

The older teen grimaced slightly at the poorly worded statement but followed nonetheless.

Beth was already talking animatedly with Maggie when Carl and Harry joined up with the group around the car. Carl immediately started talking to Glenn, leaving Harry standing awkwardly on the edge of the group as everyone conversed, wishing Glenn and Maggie a safe journey.

"It's not so bad, is it?" Asked Rick from just behind Harry, startling the boy, "I know that you've had a rough time of things and that you may have had to learn to do a lot of hard things when you were on your own but you don't have to do those things in here. It's alright to let people in, especially us. This is a good group and these people won't hurt you."

Harry didn't respond but instead looked to the ground, refusing to meet the older man's gaze. He might just be right and Harry couldn't even begin to explain how terrified that made him feel.

 _Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!_


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: Hey... Sorry about the wait. I was planning to write a lot this summer but that ended up just not happening but I figure late is better than never. To be honest you can probably give thanks to the fact that I was just wandering FF when I happened upon my story in someone's favorites list. It was really surreal and the motivation for finally finishing this chapter. Thanks so much to all the people who have reviewed and favorited this story so far, it really means a lot to me._

 **Chapter 4**

Dammit. Harry just seemed to be settling in to the rest of the group and now something like this happens.

Some random woman appears out of the middle of nowhere with baby supplies and the knowledge that Glenn and Maggie had been kidnapped by some strange settlement close by.

Not only was this bad to begin with but it could seriously scare off the teen just when he seemed to be settling in. And what to do with the woman, they'd just taken in another member but it was under completely different circumstances. Harry was a kid and was obviously running out of the luck that had kept him alive this far but Michonne was a fully grown woman and was more than capable of surviving until she found someone that was willing to take her in if that was what she wanted.

But of course, they could use her help if they were to take on this 'Governor' person to get back Glenn and Maggie.

Dammit.

Rick sighed, looked down at the woman from where she was sitting on the floor, holding her injured leg and glaring at her sword from its position on the table behind him. Rick had sent Carl and Harry outside with Judith so that they'd be safe in case this woman ended up being dangerous though it had the added bonus of keeping Harry in the dark while they discussed what to do with Michonne.

"Why?" Demanded the ex-sheriff, "Why would you come here and tell us this? What could you get out of it?"

"I want the governor dead and I don't care how it happens." Answered Michonne in an equally fierce voice, "I figured the people who were kidnapped would have a group that might help me."

A small hope started within Rick's chest, if that was really all that the woman wanted then she may end up being an asset to getting back Glenn and Maggie rather than another obstacle for them to conquer.

"And you know the location of this Governor's camp, where he's holding Glenn and Maggie?"

"Yes."

"And you'll not only help us to fight and free them but you'll leave us alone as soon as you have your revenge?"

"Yes."

It sounded too good to be true and Rick had known since long before the world ended that when something sounded too good to be true, it often was.

"What's the catch? Why are you so eager to kill this man?"

Michonne let out a soft groan of frustration as she looked up at the man in front of her, "He's not a nice man if you can tell by the fact that he randomly kidnapped two of your group and he happens to have the person that I was traveling with convinced that he hung the moon. I just want to take my revenge for him trying to kill me and to reveal him for who we really is."

"Fine." Snapped out Rick decisively, "But if this is a trap or you betray us let it be known that we won't hesitate to put a bullet in your head."

"Same goes for you." Responded Michonne.

Rick gave one last glare at the woman before striding outside to check on the kids, Harry was still a flight risk and he wasn't sure that Carl would be able to handle it if Harry really decided that he was going to try and escape.

LINEBREAK

Harry looked down at the tiny lifeform in his arms nervously, glancing back up at Carl to make sure that he was doing everything right.

The teen still wasn't quite sure how Judith had ended up in his arms but Carl had been insistent despite the slightly panicked claims that came from Harry that he had no idea how to handle children and that he would probably hurt her by accident.

Instead of reprimanding him for some fault in holding of Judith, Carl only smiled encouragingly.

"I told you that she's not made of glass, as long as you're careful there shouldn't be a problem."

Harry nodded quickly before turning his attention back to the baby, too afraid to even take his mind off her for long enough to form a proper response.

If he was honest with himself than he would have to admit that despite his anxiousness over holding the baby, it felt really nice to have this sort of contact with another human being again. The sort where he knew that the person couldn't hurt him and he was able draw warmth and kindness from the touch.

Suddenly, Harry heard the door from the prison open and he looked up in terror to see Rick walking towards them. Rick, whose baby he was holding and who he had absolutely not received permission to do so.

Seeing a different kind of fear enter into Harry's eyes, Carl frowned but leaned over to take Judith into his arms.

Harry looked straight down at the concrete beneath his feet as Rick approached, eyes wide and breath coming in shorter and shorter gasps.

"Harry." Came the voice from just in front of the teen, causing the teen's head to jerk upwards in shock of the proximity. Harry accidentally made eye contact with the older man and found that he couldn't look away from the expression that he found. It wasn't the anger or violence that he had come to expect from those around him but a legitimate and serious concern that he found there.

"Harry calm down. I'm not mad at you and I'm not going to hurt you." Said Rick as he cautiously took another step towards Harry.

The teen took a hurried step backwards at the motion before accidentally tripping and falling down onto his butt.

Harry knew that he was over reacting but he just couldn't deal with Rick right now the pure uncertainty that he brought with him. In an attempt to calm himself down, Harry took his head and pressed it in between his knees with his hands over his head, the action allowed a sort of false isolation why he closed his eyes.

Gradually, Harry's panicked breaths returned to normal and he became more fully aware of what had just happened. A deep sense of shame and embarrassment swept through his body, making the blood run to his face as he took in how he had just acted.

He had a full on panic attack for no reason other than the fact that Rick, who had been nothing but so kind to him since they'd met, was walking towards him and Carl while Harry was holding Judith.

It was no wonder that the people in this group didn't trust him enough to look after himself, he was falling apart at the seams. Merlin, when had he become as weak as to crumble to the ground the moment someone tried to touch him.

He didn't use to be like this, he'd had a rough time while living with the Dursley's but he'd still been able to function like a normal human being. It wasn't like he was even with the people who hurt him anymore, no, instead it was when he was finally maybe safe that he was weaker than ever.

He couldn't be like this anymore, thought Harry resolutely, I have to be strong. It was with this thought that the teen slowly raised his head to look up at Rick and Carl, his face suddenly burning even hotter as he took in their twin expressions of concern.

"S-sorry." Whispered Harry as he got to his feet.

"No," Said Carl resolutely, surprising Harry who had expected Rick to speak first, "you went through a hard thing and you have nothing to be ashamed for."

Rick nodded in solemn agreement before continuing, "Harry I know that this is hard for you and that in time you will be fine but that time isn't now and that's alright. I hope that you'll be able to see yourself as a member of the group before long and Judith is part of that group, I have no issue with you holding her and I never will.

Harry momentarily gaped at the two before realizing what he was doing and quickly shutting his mouth.

"Thank you." Responded Harry, a whole lot quieter and weaker than he had meant for it to come out.

Seeming to realize that he needed his space to take in what Rick had said Carl turned to his dad and asked what he had found out from the strange woman that had appeared at the fence.

"It seems that Glenn and Maggie have been kidnapped by a man who calls himself the Governor." Imparted Rick with a slight degree of hesitation, "The woman is named Michonne and has a vendetta against the man and is willing to help us get them back."

"They were what?" Exclaimed Carl loudly, causing Judith to murmur softly in her sleep from where she was nestled in his arms, "We're going to go get them back right?"

Rick nodded solemnly, "I'm going to get together part of the group and we're going to go and get them out."

"What if it's a trap?" Asked Harry, concerned for Glenn, even though he had only met him for a short time he seemed as though he had been a very nice man.

"If they're planning on trapping us then they've chosen the wrong group to target." Responded Rick with a sort of seriousness about him that made Harry feel as though there was a real truth in his words.

"I want to help." Stated Carl.

"What? No. You're too young and even though I have no doubt that you would try your hardest you would be a distraction and pull the group down." Answered a surprised Rick.

"You know I'm good with a gun, I could help."

"I said no not because I don't believe in your skills Carl but because you'd distract the rest of us with you being there and make our rescue less likely to succeed. That applies to you too Harry."

Harry nodded as Carl scowled at the rejection, he hadn't expected Rick to let him leave the prison anyway, and no matter how nice they were he was still technically their prisoner.

Though, Harry noted, he was finding that the longer he stayed the less he found that he wanted to leave.

LINEBREAK

Harry watched as the last of the rescue group loaded up onto the trucks and drove out the gates from his place outside, near the prison.

Had he really meant what he had thought before? Sure the group was nice but that didn't mean that they still couldn't hurt him, or, Harry admitted the more likely scenario, they could be hurt by someone else and cause him a different type of pain.

Harry had seen it happen time and time again where people got attached only to have their loved ones ripped away from them at a moment's notice, taking their will to live with them.

Here he was, already attached to Glenn, not wanting him to be hurt, when he should have distanced himself and not let himself be touched by his kindness. At least some of the group that went out to rescue Glenn and Maggie wouldn't be coming back, he knew this in his head and yet his heart ached at the mere possibility.

Once again he cursed himself for letting them squeeze their way into his heart so easily. He had friends, people who he had to get back to in England, and he had to survive for them and the possibility that they were alright, he couldn't afford to die trying to save someone else.

And yet even as he had the thought, he found himself glancing over to where Beth stood, holding Judith in her arms and knew that he was already too late to distance himself.

Maybe if he was already so invested it would be alright to let them in a little bit, what harm could that cause that he wouldn't be experiencing anyway at this point.

 _AN: Thanks for reading, please leave a review! I'll try to be a little faster in updating than I was last time._


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